The Copy Center, located on the first floor of the Discovery Exchange/Bookstore, will close at that location March 1 and move downstairs in the basement level, merging with the college’s Print Services Department. Read more

Record number of faculty nominated for teaching award

Columbus State students have submitted a record 177 nominations for the Distinguished Teaching Award, recognizing faculty who made a difference in their learning.

Of those nominated, 68 faculty members have submitted portfolios for review by the selection committee. Portfolios will be reviewed over the course of Winter Quarter and up to 10 finalists will be observed in the classroom this spring. Four winners will be recognized at the Quality Awards ceremony to be held in late May.

The committee would like to congratulate each of the nominees pursuing the Distinguished Teaching Award for their work in 2011:

To confirm President Harrison's attendance or participation in any upcoming internal or external events, please complete the new scheduling request form and submit it to Linda Shinn in the President’s Office. The new form can be found on President Harrison’s web site http://www2.cscc.edu/about/president/.

Gene Strickland, coordinator of Digital Photography and assistant professor, will present a seminar on emerging technologies and their potential applications in the classroom with a focus on Camtasia, Facebook and Flickr, at Thursday’s eTech Ohio Educational Technology Conference.

The conference, held February 13-15 at the Ohio Convention Center, hosts more than 6,500 educators and innovators who will share their successes and challenges with each other. It is the third-largest educational technology conference in the country.

Strickland’s presentation is titled “Digital Literacy and Social Media for Teaching Using Camtasia, Facebook and Flickr.”

Franklin offers a 15% tuition reduction to all Columbus State employees to pursue undergraduate degrees, as well as a 10% tuition reduction for master’s degree programs. Employees can also register for their first undergrad course, Learning Strategies ( PF321) at no charge.

A Franklin University transfer advisor visits the Columbus State campus every Monday and Tuesday from 12:00-5:00 p.m. in Aquinas Hall 116 to meet with students from any associate degree program and complete all the necessary steps for transfer to Franklin.

If you would like more information about Franklin’s transfer program and employee tuition discounts, contact David Kerr at (614)947-6079 or email CSCCTransferInfo@franklin.edu .

When the “Celebrate Columbus in Song” contest was announced for the city’s Bicentennial Celebration, David Meyers, CEWD data analyst, submitted “Elijah’s Wooden Book,” a song he wrote in collaboration with his friend, Arnett Howard.

Meyers says he was inspired to write the lyrics of the song by the life and work of Elijah Pierce, whose barbershop was located at Long and Washington Streets. A statue of the famed folk artist now stands on the site. Howard, longtime leader of the Creole Funk Band, composed the music and recorded a demo for the Bicentennial contest.

Out of the 123 songs submitted, “Elijah’s Wooden Book” was chosen as one of the top 29 by a team of 21 judges. The public is now being asked to vote for the best 10-12 songs from now through March 23 by going to http://song.200columbus.com/vote .

Each of the top-29 songs is also being featured each night on radio station CD102.5. Vote now for Elijah’s Wooden Book!

The Instructor Permission Form located on Blackboard has been revised to be more user-friendly. Instructors only need the following information to complete the form:

The course synonym number

Your (faculty) Cougar ID number

Student’s Cougar ID number

After selecting the Year and Quarter/Semester, input the information listed above. The form will now auto-fill the course information, instructor name and email address, and the student’s name and email address. This will help eliminate issues with incorrect student Cougar ID numbers and email addresses, and make the form less time consuming to complete.

With an accreditation visit by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) expected early in 2013, Continuous Quality Improvement teams all over campus are busy compiling reports on the quality work we do.

The HLC review will cover five areas over two days: Systems Portfolio Clarification, Systems Appraisal Follow-Up, Accreditation Issues Follow-Up, Federal Compliance Review and Organizational Quality Commitment. Here's an update on some of the work so far.

l Systems Appraisal Feedback Report. This report contains HLC recommendations on college improvement processes described in the 2009 Systems Portfolio. Employees across campus are busy finalizing our responses to those suggestions. Data-based improvements must be front and center! Deadline to document is March 15.

l Federal Compliance. This document covers institutional nuts and bolts such as credits, tuition, program length, Title IV compliance, student complaints, transfer policies, and more. Federal funding ties directly to this report. Patricia Opong, Susan Stumpp and Erica Swarts are leading this effort. Deadline for the report is August 1.

l Organization Quality Commitment. In discussions with various campus groups, the visiting HLC team will gauge Columbus State's commitment to continuous quality improvement. Key groups include the Reaffirmation of Accreditation steering committee, Action Project team members, faculty and chairpersons. Deadline: Key campus groups will be identified closer to the 2013 visit date.

If you’d like to keep up to date on the status of the Big Dig (for data), check the CQI
website frequently.

A week-long series celebrating the art and influences of Artemisia Gentileschi
March 1-11, 2012 In celebration of Women’s History Month, Columbus State and the Columbus Museum of Art are collaborating to present a week-long series of events focusing on the artwork, ideas and influences of Artemisia Gentileschi.

Gentileschi (1593–1652) was an Italian Baroque painter, today considered one of the most accomplished painters of her generation after Caravaggio. In an era when women painters were not easily accepted by the artistic community or patrons, she was the first female painter to become a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy.